Eleanor Smeal, Author of Why and How Women Will Elect the Next President; President of the Feminist Majority Foundation

Women's Vote: THE GENDER GAP

Analysis: How the Gender Gap Shaped Election 2000

2000 Gender Gap by age, race, education, etc.

The gender gap was first identified and popularized in 1980 by Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal, who as President of the National Organization for Women, noted an 8% difference between men's and women's for Reagan in his election over Carter. In that race, Reagan won support from 55% of men, but only 47% of women. See the chart of the Presidental Gender Gap since 1980

Since 1980, the gender gap has become a staple of modern election analysis. The gender gap has been credited with the election of President Clinton in 1996 and the election of many Congressional and statewide candidates over the past two decades.
See the chart of the House Gender Gap since 1982

Why is the gender gap so potent?

The impact of the gender gap on election outcomes is even greater than the size of the gap. Women are registered and vote more than men. Seven million more women than men voted in 1996.

7 Million More Women Than Men Vote

The gender gap is a powerful tool for the feminist movement which demonstrates that women are a formidable force in national politics, and has put women and women's issues on the political agenda.

For more information on the origins of the gender gap, order a book just a little ahead of its time, How and Why Women Will Elect the Next President by Eleanor Smeal, Harper and Row, 1984. (Link to store for book.)

How Do You Calculate the Gender Gap?

What Causes the Gender Gap?

Related Articles

Gender Gap Decisive - Women Elect President, Men Elect Gingrich Congress (Winter 1996/97)

President Clinton and five Democratic U.S. Senate candidates owe their victories to women voters. A historic 11-point gender gap propelled President Bill Clinton to victory - the first time a U.S. President was elected by a majority of women voters while a plurality of men voted for the losing candidate.

Gender Gulf in Voting Possible - At National Press Club Speech, Smeal Calls for Women's Equality Act and Women's Equal Representation Act (Spring 1997)

In a National Press Club speech before a packed audience of major-media reporters, women's rights leaders, and the audiences of C-Span and National Public Radio, Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal predicted that the gender gap in women's and men's voting behaviors would become a gender gulf if Republicans continue to polarize key women's issues.